PATERSON – An informal group of the city’s black political and community leaders has held two invitation-only meetings in the past couple weeks during which they vetted the three African-American candidates for mayor, according to people who attended the sessions.

Members of the group said they simply are trying to determine which candidate in the crowded field to support. Attendees acknowledged that everyone at Thursday night’s meeting at Canaan Baptist Church was black, but one of them said the group also plans to invite some of the non-African-American candidates to come to future sessions.

“Color has no impact on your ability,” said city school board member Errol Kerr, who is also the former chairman of Paterson’s Democratic organization. “You could be black. You could be Latino. You could be white. We’re looking for the best person to move the city forward.”

But one of the African-American mayoral candidates, David Gilmore, questioned the authenticity of the screening process. He said he believes the meetings are a “set-up” designed to build support within the city’s black community for one of its own, Jeffery Jones, in his re-election efforts.

“I will not subscribe to that agenda,” Gilmore said. “We can’t continue to alienate other communities. It has to be a multicultural unification effort. We can’t have an exclusively black agenda.”

Gilmore said that during his question-and-answer session on Thursday he was asked whether he would drop out of the race and support Jones if the group decided to back Jones. “I told them I would rather stab myself with a salad fork than support Jeff Jones,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore said the group did not ask suggest the possibility that it would support anyone else in the field.

"It's presented as a screening, but that's not what it is," said Gilmore. "It's all about galvanizing support for Jeff Jones."

Political strategists in Paterson say that many city voters cast their ballots along racial and ethnic lines. In an election that could have as many as 11 people running for mayor, strategists predict that any candidate who ends up being the only person on the ballot from a major city cultural group would have a distinct advantage in the race.

Last fall, leaders from Paterson’s Dominican community held a very formal screening process designed to narrow the number of Dominicans in the mayor’s race to just one. That effort culminated in their endorsement of Maria Teresa Feliciano over two other candidates, Councilman Rigo Rodriguez and Miguel Diaz. But Rodriguez criticized the fairness of the process and has decided to run despite the group’s decision.

The field in the mayor’s race took a major hit last week when Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly announced he would not run. Now Wimberly is one of the leaders of the black political group vetting candidates, according to people who have attended the meetings.

Wimberly could not be reached for comment. Neither could Jones or Donna Nelson-Ivy as well as some of the other alleged attendees, including Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, Councilman Kenneth Morris and Freeholder Theodore “TJ” Best.

In discussing his own decision not to run, Best said last week, “At this point, there are no candidates who have come forward that I feel have the ability to lead the city where it needs to go.”

“I was surprised to hear TJ’s comments, but I don’t think he’s that far off,” said Councilman William McKoy, who said he attended Thursday’s meeting during which Gilmore and Nelson were vetted.

McKoy declined to discuss details of what went on, saying it was a confidential session. But he acknowledged the discussion dealt with the upcoming mayoral race.

“Everybody is concerned with the field that we’re looking at,” McKoy said. When asked whether the concern focused on the quality or quantity of the candidates, McKoy said, “Both.”

McKoy and Morris have been strong critics of Jones' performance as mayor. Their participation in the meeting would seem to indicate that invitations were not limited to the mayor's boosters.

Another attendee, school board member Corey Teague, said he was upset about some of the criticisms of the invitation-only nature meeting that he has read on social media. He said the privacy of the session allowed for some frank discussion. “I think it’s an effective way we can all get behind one candidate,” Teague said.

Kerr agreed. “The consensus is that with the city where it is, in terms of its economic situation, we need to make sure that the best person gets the support from our community,” said Kerr. “I’m not saying that I’ll support you just because you look like me. The city has to go beyond that. It can’t be about race.”

Kerr said other major mayoral candidates who are not black would be invited to come before the group of African-American leaders to discuss their ideas.

“I haven’t been invited, but I would welcome it,” said former mayor and current candidate Jose “Joey” Torres. “If one individual is screened, then I think everybody should be screened.”